{{Short description|Designing automated factories to not require humans on-site}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} '''Lights-out manufacturing''' or '''dark factory''' is the manufacturing methodology of fully automating the production of goods at factories and other industrial facilities, without requiring any human labour presence on-site.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Dark Factory and the Future of Manufacturing: A Guide to Operational Efficiency and Competitiveness |last=Gisi |first=Philip J. |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |location=New York, NY |date=2024 |isbn=978-1-032-68815-2 |page=3 |doi=10.4324/9781032688152}}</ref> Many of these factories are considered to be able to run "with the lights off," but few run exclusively lights-out production. For example, in computer numerical control machining, the presence of human workers is typically required for removing completed parts and setting up tombstones that hold unfinished parts. As the technology necessary for total automation becomes increasingly available, many factories are beginning to use lights-out production between shifts (or as a separate shift) to meet increasing production demand or to save money on labor.
An '''automatic factory''' is a place where raw materials enter, and finished products leave with little or no human intervention.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=Charles R. |title=Toward the automatic factory: a case study of men and machines |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Conn |isbn=0-8371-9301-X |year=1977}}</ref> One of the earliest descriptions of the automatic factory in fiction was the 1955 short story "Autofac," by Philip K. Dick.<ref> [https://web.archive.org/web/20080102142304/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,818947,00.html "Automatic Factory"] in Time magazine 1953 Sep. 28 </ref>
==Real-world examples==
==="Lights out" computer numerical control (CNC) machining=== CNC machines do not require continuous operator attention, and some models can run unattended.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Takei Masami (Fuji Heavy Ind. Ltd.) |title=Realizing Unattended Hours of Continuous Operation of Machining Center with Addition of Intelligent Function |url=https://jglobal.jst.go.jp/en/detail?JGLOBAL_ID=200902224635754335 |journal=Subaru Technical Review |language=ja |year=2003 |volume=30 |page=251–256 |issn=0910-4852 }}</ref> A few machine shops run CNC unattended on nights and weekends. Although the machines are run without being under constant supervision, it is a common practice to always have a person in the vicinity of the machine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/sites.wustl.edu/dist/3/655/files/2017/05/SEAS-Student-Machine-Shop-Safety-Manula-1iopesn.pdf|title=SEAS Student Machine Shop Safety Instruction Manual|last=|first=|date=|website=|access-date=}}</ref>
===Existing "lights-out factories"=== FANUC, a Japanese robotics company, has been a lights-out factory since 2001.<ref name="fanuc">{{cite news |publisher=CNN Money |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2003/06/01/343371/index.htm |title=Fade To Black The 1980s vision of "lights-out" manufacturing, where robots do all the work, is a dream no more. |author1=Null, Christopher |author2=Caulfield, Brian |date=June 1, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091123102010/https://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2003/06/01/343371/index.htm |archive-date=23 November 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Robots are building other robots at a rate of about 50 per 24-hour shift and can run unsupervised for as long as 30 days at a time. "Not only is it lights-out," says Fanuc vice president Gary Zywiol, "we turn off the air conditioning and heat too."<ref name="fanuc"/><ref>https://www.autodesk.com/redshift/lights-out-manufacturing/ RedShift by Autodesk. 3 December 2015</ref>
In the Netherlands, Philips uses lights-out manufacturing to produce electric razors, with 128 robots made by Adept Technology. There are only nine human quality assurance workers who oversee the end of the manufacturing process.<ref>{{cite web|last=Markoff|first=John|title=Techonomy 2012: Where's My Robot?|url=http://techonomy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/WheresMyRobot.pdf|work=Techonomy|accessdate=2016-03-05|date=13 November 2012}}</ref>
In the manufacturing of integrated circuits using 300 mm wafers, the entire manufacturing process is completely automated{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}, with workers only making sure that the process runs without problems and repairing any faulty machinery.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}.
Xiaomi has an 860,000 square foot factory in Changping, Beijing capable of manufacturing 10 million smartphones a year across 11 fully automated production lines.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bochis |first=Nicolae |date=2026-02-02 |title=Xiaomi's Dark Robot Factory Can Make A Phone Every Second Without People - Here's How |url=https://www.bgr.com/2087200/xiaomi-dark-robot-smart-phone-factory/ |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=BGR |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=((24/7 Staff)) |date=2024-07-22 |title=Xiaomi Launches First Fully Automated Smartphone Factory |url=https://www.supplychain247.com/article/xiaomi-launches-first-fully-automated-smartphone-factory |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=Supply Chain 24/7 |language=en}}</ref>
ASE Group, a Taiwanese company that handles outsourced semiconductor packaging and testing have 56 lights out factories. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Smart Manufacturing |url=https://ase.aseglobal.com/esg/smart-manufacturing/ |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=ASE |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-18 |title=ASE opens fifth factory in Penang, embracing AI-driven smart manufacturing |url=https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20250218PD220/ase-malaysia-expansion-ai-smart-manufacturing.html |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=DIGITIMES |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-12 |title=The 'Lights-Out' Factory: How AI is Revolutionizing Semiconductor Production |url=https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20250912PR202/semiconductor-industry-nvidia.html&chid=9 |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=DIGITIMES |language=en}}</ref>
==Motivations for lights-out factories== <!-- The quote is copy & pasted from reference --> Lights-out manufacturing may increase productivity and lower upkeep costs. Companies incorporating lights-out methodologies into floor plans only need to consider robotic workers, which minimize space and climate-control requirements. Human laborers can be dispatched to a separate location for tasks such as quality assurance. Optimizing manufacturing space for a fully autonomous robotic workforce allows for an increase in productivity.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}
James Cook, an application engineer at Stäubli, the business development and marketing manager at Stäubli Robotics, says robots can help lower building costs by requiring smaller work cells. He states that "manufacturers can fit a larger number of compact cells in the same space to increase production without adding heating, lighting, or cooling to the cost of the building."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brumson|first1=Bennett|title=Robotic Industries Association|url=https://www.robotics.org/content-detail.cfm/Industrial-Robotics-Industry-Insights/Robotics-and-Energy-Cost-Reduction/content_id/1047|website=Robotics Online|publisher=Robotic Industries Association|accessdate=29 November 2017}}</ref> Floor space is also important for energy conservation, as a smaller space reduces energy consumption by reducing heating costs. Without human workers, climate-control systems are unnecessary, and smaller layouts require less electricity.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
==See also== * Automation * Self-replicating machine
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Industrial automation